Biggest fall in Chinese exports in seven years hits mining shares

Drops in import and export figures reverse recent rally in oil and metal prices and rekindle concerns about China's slowdown

Shares in mining companies fell heavily in the City on Tuesday after the biggest fall in China's exports in almost seven years rekindled concerns about the impact of a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy on the rest of the world.

Official figures released in Beijing showed that exports in February were down 25.4% on a year earlier, the worst performance since May 2009, the trough of the global recession.

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